Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

The Lost Dog by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman — A Moving Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Lost Dog by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, a short, tender and deeply moving tale of loyalty, love and a dog's faithful heart, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

A beautiful dog with a coat of tawny gold has lost his master in the crowded city streets. All day he searches, nose to the ground, hungry and exhausted, following false trails through a great tide of people. As the city lights blaze out and night settles in, he fixes his eyes on a young stranger in shabby clothes, a man he somehow knows could love a dog, and follows him a mile out into the countryside to a lonely house among the trees.

 

That night, before the hearth fire, the young man shares his supper and sings in a magnificent tenor voice, and the dog, who does not much care for music, lies listening on an old skin rug. At midnight there comes a ring at the door that changes both their lives. Yet through all the good years that follow, the dog never quite stops searching in his sleep for the old master he lost.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Freeman's gentle storytelling, a quietly bittersweet ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night, and a special one for every dog lover.

 

If you enjoy Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, you'll find more of her stories on Books at Bedtime, including Seventoes' Ghost and The Three Old Sisters and the Old Beau.

 

The Lost Dog was first published in Harper's Magazine in October 1900. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Try Thole, Martin's new health and wellness app, in beta on iPhone: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

How to Stop Overthinking — Calm Racing Thoughts & Mental Exhaustion with Positive Affirmations | 10-Minute Guided Meditation

 

Having the same conversation in your head over and over again? Something you said yesterday, something someone said to you, or something that hasn't even happened yet. What if this goes wrong? What if they think badly of me? Before you know it, your mind has gone round in circles and you're mentally exhausted. This 10-minute guided meditation helps you stop overthinking, calm racing thoughts, ease mental exhaustion and step away from the worry loop with positive affirmations.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and paramedic of over 20 years Martin Hewlett. If you find it hard to switch off, Martin's Anchored app has Instant Calm right on the main page, always free and built into the code so you never need a signal. Download on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. And Martin's new health and fitness app, Thole, is in free beta testing on iPhone (iOS only): https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

We breathe with Martin's gentle 4-2-6 rhythm, then imagine a wide open summer sky where your thoughts drift past like clouds, some light, some dark and heavy. You don't have to chase them or push them away. You'll receive five affirmations for overthinking and three practical daily caring tips, including how to turn "what if" into "even if".

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – The same conversation, over and over

* 00:46 – Welcome from Martin

* 01:08 – Anchored and Instant Calm

* 01:32 – Finding your comfy place

* 01:53 – Gentle 4-2-6 breathing

* 03:43 – A wide open summer sky

* 04:09 – Thoughts as drifting clouds

* 04:58 – Letting the cloud simply be there

* 05:32 – You don't have to travel with them

* 06:30 – Five positive affirmations for overthinking

* 07:48 – A calm mind isn't a mind with no thoughts

* 08:51 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 10:08 – Gently returning to the room

* 10:35 – Your mind is allowed to rest

* 10:55 – Share and Martin's calming tips

* 11:20 – Try Thole on iPhone

* 11:58 – Until tomorrow, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Positive Affirmations for Overthinking

Repeat them silently or out loud. You don't have to believe them immediately, just let the words settle:

* My thoughts are not facts, and I do not have to believe every one of them.

* I do not need to solve everything right now.

* I can step away from overthinking and return to the present moment.

* I have faced difficult moments before, and I can trust myself to take the next step.

* My mind deserves peace, and I give myself permission to rest.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Give your worries an appointment: If you keep worrying about the same thing, set aside 10 minutes later in the day to write down what's bothering you. When the thought returns before then, gently remind yourself you've already made time for it.

2. Change your surroundings: When you're stuck in a worry loop, stand up, stretch or walk into another room. A small change can interrupt the cycle and bring your attention back to the present.

3. Change "what if" into "even if": Instead of asking "what if something goes wrong?", try "even if something doesn't go to plan, I can take things one step at a time." You don't need certainty about the future to have confidence in your ability to respond.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

You don't have to attend to every thought that enters your mind, or solve tomorrow's problems today. Your mind is allowed to rest, even when life is uncertain. Keep that calm close in Anchored:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

For Martin's daily calming tips, visit https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Want to get healthy and fit? Thole even brings in this podcast for mindful moments. Try it free in beta on iPhone only, no catch, ahead of its December launch: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

If you know someone who struggles with racing thoughts or overthinking, please share this episode, and leave a 30-second review on Apple Podcasts.

 

Have a lovely day, my friend. I'll speak to you tomorrow. And remember, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

 

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Three Old Sisters and the Old Beau by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman — A Gentle Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Three Old Sisters and the Old Beau by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, a tender, wistful New England tale of lifelong devotion and hearts that never grew old, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Rachel, Nancy and Camilla have lived all their lives in the house where they were born. The youngest is nearly seventy, yet they are still the most youthful maidens in the village. On summer evenings, their shadows can be seen on the window curtains playing at graces with ribboned hoops. Each afternoon at five o'clock they sit in state in their cool front hall, dressed in the silks and muslins of their girlhood, bent over their embroidery.

 

And always, on a pleasant summer afternoon, the old beau comes stepping across the road from his house behind the pines, in his silk bell hat and blue swallow-tailed coat with bright brass buttons, flourishing his ivory-headed cane. He has never had another sweetheart, and they have never had another beau, and for as long as anyone can remember he has taken tea and pound cake from a blue china cup and plate. But which of the three sisters holds his heart? Nobody in the village has ever known.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Freeman's quiet, old-fashioned village, a gently bittersweet ending and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoyed Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, you'll also find her Seventoes' Ghost on Books at Bedtime, alongside L.M. Montgomery's Charlotte's Ladies and The Little Black Doll.

 

The Three Old Sisters and the Old Beau was first published in Harper's Magazine in May 1896 and collected in The Love of Parson Lord and Other Stories (Harper & Brothers, 1900). Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Try Thole, Martin's new health and wellness app, free in beta for iPhone only: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Manifesting Abundance — Positive Affirmations for Gratitude & an Abundance Mindset | 10-Minute Guided Meditation

 

Do you ever feel there's never quite enough? Not enough time, money, energy or opportunity, and sometimes, perhaps, that you're not enough either. When you're living with anxiety, it's easy to focus on everything that's missing. This 10-minute guided meditation for manifesting abundance uses powerful positive affirmations, gratitude and gentle breathing to help you build a calmer, more hopeful abundance mindset, by noticing what's already there.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett. For a calm place to return to each day, find Martin's Anchored app on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. And Martin's new health app, Thole, is now in free beta testing on iPhone. Join here (iOS only): https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Manifesting abundance isn't about magic words. It's about recognising opportunities, appreciating the good already in your life, and approaching tomorrow with a little more confidence. We breathe in for four and out for six, then imagine a quiet beach at sunrise as the tide slowly fills every hollow in the sand, with five affirmations for gratitude and possibility and three daily caring tips.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Feeling like there's never enough?

* 00:49 – Welcome: manifesting abundance

* 01:04 – What manifesting abundance really means

* 01:32 – Anchored and Anchored Premium

* 01:55 – Finding your quiet place, palms facing up

* 02:43 – Gentle breathing: in for 4, out for 6

* 03:10 – Why slow breathing helps, from a former paramedic

* 04:38 – A quiet beach at sunrise

* 05:16 – Watching the tide come in

* 05:42 – Breathing in possibility

* 06:06 – Releasing what weighs you down

* 06:36 – Today's abundance affirmations

* 07:44 – Letting the words settle

* 08:14 – Your 3 daily caring tips

* 09:38 – Gently returning to the room

* 10:04 – Abundance is about noticing more

* 10:29 – Share, calming tips and Thole

* 11:27 – Sending you a hug, and be kind

 

🌿 Today's Abundance Affirmations

In this moment of peace and tranquillity, visualise these words and repeat:

* I notice and appreciate the good things already present in my life.

* I am open to new opportunities and willing to recognise them.

* There is room in my life for abundance, happiness and possibility.

* I practise gratitude for the small things that make each day meaningful.

* I take positive steps towards the life I want to create.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. Notice three good things: While you're brushing your teeth, making a cup of tea or getting ready for bed, think of three things you appreciate today. They can be tiny: a warm drink, a friendly smile or a moment of peace.

2. Stay open to one small opportunity: Today, look for one opportunity to do something positive. Perhaps it's starting a conversation, trying something new or taking the first step towards a goal you've been putting off. You don't need to change your whole life, just take one step.

3. Remember that joy doesn't always cost money: If you catch yourself thinking you can't afford to enjoy life, look for one simple pleasure that's freely available: a walk outside, your favourite music, or a conversation with someone you care about. Just give yourself permission to enjoy it.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Abundance isn't always about having more. Sometimes it's about noticing more: the kindness around you and the moments that matter. You don't need everything figured out today. Just keep your mind open to the possibility that good things can still happen. Keep that calm close in Anchored:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

Anchored Premium is 5.99 a month: no adverts, full access to Books at Bedtime, and so much more. For Martin's free daily calming tips, visit https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Getting your health back in order? Try Thole, Martin's new app, free in beta for iPhone only, and let him know how it could be improved:

 https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N. See what's coming at https://thole.app, with the full launch planned for December.

 

Feeling a little more hopeful? Please share this with someone who needs the same reminder, and leave a 30-second review on Apple Podcasts.

 

Have a lovely day, my friend. Truly, sending you a hug. And remember, especially to yourself, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Seventoes' Ghost by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman — A Gentle Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with Seventoes' Ghost by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, a gentle, old-fashioned New England tale of a boy, a puppy, a grandfather's beloved cat and a guilty conscience, read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Young Benjamin Wellman has wanted a dog ever since he was born. So on a hot summer's day he walks three miles to the village and back to fetch a clumsy yellow puppy he has already named Caesar. But Grandsir, his stern old grandfather, has always preferred cats to dogs, and he won't hear a word of it. Nothing must upset Seventoes, his splendid great yellow cat with seven toes on every paw. The puppy has to go.

 

Heartbroken, Benjamin trudges down the dusty road past stone walls hidden in wild roses and fields dotted with haymakers, to give Caesar away to his friend Sammy Tucker. On the long walk home through the orchard, brooding over his wrongs, he comes upon Seventoes stretched out in the sun on the ledge of the old well. In one moment of temper Benjamin does something he instantly regrets, and moments later he sees something on the shed roof that turns him white with terror. (Cat lovers, don't worry. This story ends sweetly.)

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Freeman's warm summer farmyard, a tender ending at sunset and Martin's calm, unhurried narration make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman is best known for A New England Nun and Other Stories. If you enjoy classic short stories, you'll find many more on Books at Bedtime, including L.M. Montgomery's Charlotte's Ladies, The Little Black Doll and The Gossip of Valley View.

 

Seventoes' Ghost first appeared in Harper's Young People and was collected in Young Lucretia and Other Stories (Harper & Brothers, 1892). Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

🌱 Try Thole, Martin's new health and wellness app, free in beta for iPhone only: https://testflight.apple.com/join/aUKB8W7N

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.